


The Blades' Dance

by Winterose



Category: League of Legends
Genre: A little bit of violence, Fighting, Gen, I don't know how to tag this, assassin mission, pairing or not pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 11:52:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17766293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winterose/pseuds/Winterose
Summary: Katarina bears bitter curiosity over Talon's skills. After her father goes missing years later, she joins Talon on a small expedition to a Noxian town searching for her father.





	The Blades' Dance

The night was silent as ever, and the shadows long and deep in the manor. A young man sat on a windowsill, breathing in the cold air. The night was his favourite time of the day. Darkness made it easier to snitch around, to move in the shadows unnoticed. In the dark he could sense everything in his surroundings; every little movement, every little noise, every heart racing when adrenaline kicked in. He loved it. The fast breathing of someone who was afraid for their life.

A quiet pat on the stone floor drew his attention. Quickly, the young man caught a blade from his pocket and threw it at the direction of the step. Just as swiftly, the red-haired girl caught the blade mid-air.

“Well, isn’t that a way to say hello?” she smirked and waved the blade in her hand. “I knew your blades were better talking than you are, but I thought we were past that phase already.”

“Katarina”, the young man greeted her and reached his hand forward, wordlessly asking to get his blade back. “It’s unusual for you to be up this late.”

“Just as unusual than you sitting up here, Talon”, Katarina answered, dropping the blade on Talon’s open palm. He caught the blade and hid it in his pocket.

“Is Noxus that interesting to you, even after spending your whole life here?” Katarina leaned to the wall next to the window so that she could see Talon’s face even though he kept on staring out of the window.

“The city looks different from up here”, he said. “I never grow bored watching the nightly city. It sharpens my senses, when the fuzz of the day is gone. I feel alive at night.”

Katarina studied Talon’s face. Ever since he had come to the Du Couteau manor, he had been a dog of her father.  _ The dog of general Du Couteau _ , Katarina had called him a dozen of times, until her father had once said that he would gladly have Talon as his son. He was a skilled assassin, and was loyal to but one man; the general who had once defeated him in battle.

_ He’s a Du Couteau, not by blood but by the blade, _ Katarina thought, feeling ever bitter about the trust her father had in Talon. But on the other hand, he had never failed him the way Katarina once had. Her scar tickled when she remembered that day. 

“Is he sending you out on a mission again?” Katarina asked. She wasn’t sure if Talon would answer honestly; even though she was a Du Couteau as well as her father, and skilled with blades to top that, she didn’t receive quite the same respect from Talon as her father did. That bugged her, to be honest, but Talon never did as much as spar with her. 

Talon nodded, shortly and in such an invisible manner that only sharp eyes like Katarina’s could see the nod. 

“You won’t tell me where”, Katarina said. Talon didn’t answer. “Don’t tell me. It doesn’t matter where your missions take you to. He will never send me to the same direction.”

“It only takes one skilled assassin to kill a target”, Talon stated and finally turned to meet Katarina’s eyes. “You should know that, Kata. You were born a blade in your hand.”

“I know that”, Katarina snorted. “During assassination mission, more than one could ruin everything.”

“And yet you wish you could see me in action”, Talon noted coldly. “You wish you could see my blades fly. Are you eager to see my limits… or yours?”

Katarina laughed.

“Maybe both”, she smirked. “You are talented, I have heard that and your numerous dead marks prove your skills. But who would be deadlier… I, the daughter of the cruel general Du Couteau, born and raised harsh to be a killer… or you, the dog of the same general, grown in the streets to kill swift?”

“We might never know”, Talon answered and turned to look out of the window again. “I will not fight you, as long as you are not my mark.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised to see the mark on my back again one day”, Katarina sighed. “I am a disappointment, after all. One more mistake…”

“You have made a mistake once in the past”, Talon interrupted her, looking back at Katarina’s eyes. “You have learned from it, and proved your skills after. You may be reckless, but you are not stupid.”

Silence fell between the two. They stared at each other for a good while, studying each other’s faces, trying to see a little sign of an emotion, something to reveal the thoughts in their heads. But even though they were still young, they were both assassins to the bone, and hid their emotions well - if there were any. Sometimes it was hard to even themselves to know if there was any bit of emotion deep in their hearts.

“I will go to bed”, Talon finally stood up and took his eyes off of Katarina’s. He walked away, slowly and quietly, and Katarina looked at his back until he disappeared into the shadows of the dark corridor.

~*~

Katarina flipped the blade in her hand and stared across the empty dining hall. It was nowhere near the dinner time, not that anyone would care anyway; there was not even that much of the family life left they once had had in Du Couteau family. Since her father had gone missing and Cassiopeia had been turned into a half-snake-beast, the manor felt more like an abandoned castle than Du Couteau residence.

Katarina hit her blade to the table and grimaced. The silence in the manor felt wrong. It was different from the nightly stillness. It was like the time had stopped, washing away everything the great Du Couteau family had once been.

“Killing the table now, huh?” Talon’s voice startled Katarina, but she hid it and peeked over her shoulder. Talon leaned onto a pillar a little behind the chair Katarina was sitting in, watching her from the shadows.

“Stalking me now, huh?” Katarina answered, leaning back in her chair. “What do you want from me, Talon? Strike a blade through my heart if it pleases you. Or die trying.”

Talon let out a quiet laughter.

“Arrogant as ever”, he whispered. “I’m not willing to kill you. Not today, nor ever. You just never understand that.”

“Then what do you want from me”, Katarina stood up to face Talon. “What ties you to this family when my father is gone?”

“As long as he’s not proven dead, I assume general is still alive”, Talon said, maybe for a hundredth time already. Mostly he told so to himself, when he questioned if he should consider himself free from the service of Du Couteau. But even without his orders, Talon felt bonded to general Du Couteau. And his elder daughter, Katarina, had always been drawing Talon’s attention, and Talon was not sure if it was for good or for bad.

“So what will you do about it?” Katarina asked, annoyed by Talon’s blind loyalty to her father. “Whoever bested him, will for sure best you as well. However skilled you are, you are still not a match for my father.”

“Maybe I am, maybe I am not”, Talon answered. “But strong will makes a man strong enough to go through any wall he faces.”

“Haven’t heard such wise words from you before”, Katarina mocked him. “Did you kill a librarian to achieve such wisdom?”

Talon smirked. 

“You were always outspoken”, he said. “Very well. I shall find your father and whoever is behind him vanishing. And I will not rest until I have found out where he’s gone.”

“Bold words”, Katarina raised her brow.

“I have nothing else to live for”, Talon closed his eyes. “I live and die by the blade, and my blade has been your father’s since the day he beat me.”

“I know that”, Katarina grabbed her blade from the table and sent a small piece of wood flying from its surface. “Ever since my father found you, you were his favourite chess piece in my stead.”

Talon opened his eyes and looked into Katarina’s furious eyes. They were burning with bitterness and will to prove herself again, to her father and the whole Noxus, everyone doubting her ability to fulfill her duty.

“I will join you on your mission”, Katarina walked up to Talon and stared at his eyes. “We will find my father and return him to Noxus - and show no mercy for anyone standing in our way.”

Talon smirked and nodded shortly.

“Let’s get going.”

~*~ 

Katarina kept her distance to Talon as they ran through the forest siding with a small town known for its assassin family. Talon had heard a rumour of them being involved in some conspiracy against the Trifarix around the same time when general Du Couteau went missing.

_ They should bring a little challenge to the fight _ , Katarina thought, grinning to herself. The family running the town was well known for its fighting skills and numerous victories on several battlefields.  _ It’s a joy to bring them to their knees. _

There were guards in every corner tower of the town. Katarina sneaked into one and slid the throat of the guard open, silent like a shadow. Talon sneaked into the tower to meet Katarina after he had taken down the guard on the tower next to it.

“Their mansion is on the mountain side of the town”, Talon whispered. “There are no towers closer than these two. We are free to approach them in secret.”

“They’d better have some information to us”, Katarina snorted and wiped her blade to the cloak of the dead guard. “This town disgusts me.”

Talon gazed quietly at Katarina. She felt him judging her, and sighed.

“Let’s go”, she said and sneaked out of the tower. Talon followed her, keeping a short distance so that they could easily communicate, yet enough to keep them separate and safe from ambush.

They killed a few more guards on their way to the mansion. By the look of it, the mansion didn’t remind a Noxian structure. It was dark stone like the Noxian buildings often were, but its ornaments were a combination of Demacian and Shuriman styles. Talon could easily see, why Katarina despised the town so much; the Shuriman styled buildings reminded her of the curse of her sister, and the Demacian structures felt almost like a betrayal to Noxus.

_ Well, if there’s any truth to the plotting, they are as much enemies to Noxus as Demacian armies are _ , he thought. He entered the shadow of the mansion and sneaked in through a high window at the end of a great hall. Katarina entered the same hall through a side door, walking to the middle of the hall with an idiotic arrogance.

Talon hid close to the roof of the hall and followed Katarina in the high shadows. He never let her out of his sight, when he moved in the heights. Katarina saw him in the corner of her eye, and smirked. She knew he was there, but she didn’t follow his example about staying out of sight.

A blade flew through the air, across the hall. Katarina dodged the blade and turned to face a young man, clearly younger than her or Talon, barely even a man yet. He flipped another blade in his hand, around and around, too easily. Talon narrowed his eyes and prepared himself. There was something wrong about this boy.

“Well, well, who we’ve got here”, the boy said, grinning oddly. “Isn’t it the sinister blade of Noxus, the fiery daughter of the general himself?”

“You seem to know me”, Katarina smirked as an answer and pointed at the boy with her blade. “Who are you, kid, and where are the masters of this town?”

The boy laughed.

“You wish to meet them in the battle, don’t you?” he asked, his whole body mocking Katarina. “Oh, you will. Over my dead body, though.”

“You have a death wish”, Katarina snorted. “Fine. My pleasure to grant you that wish.”

Katarina dashed towards the boy, but he was prepared. He dashed to another direction, giggling as he passed Katarina. She didn’t stop. Katarina dashed after the boy, but he dashed again out of her way. She tried to predict the boy’s movement, but he seemed to be two steps before her every time. No matter in what direction Katarina or her blades went, however unpredictably she moved, the boy always seemed to dodge her effortlessly. His smile began to irritate Katarina.

_ It’s an illusion _ , Talon finally figured and began looking for the source of it.  _ Whoever is casting that illusion must be nearby. That strong an image can’t be cast afar… _

Talon finally saw the mage playing tricks on Katarina. He dashed out of the shadows and on his way past Katarina whispered: “It’s just a trick.”

While Talon rushed for the mage, Katarina turned her back to the illusion.

“Your tricks won’t fool us”, she said loudly. Talon struck his blade through the heart of the mage and heard a scream behind him. He released his blade from the mage and turned to see a shining blade pierce Katarina’s shoulder right below her shoulder piece. By the glimmer of the blade Talon knew instantly that the blade was a work of another mage; even with Katarina’s pain tolerance, the blade had her fall on her knees. Talon searched for the mage and rushed for the kill.

More mages entered the room, along with the two eldest children of the family, twins known for their cruelty and flawless communication.

“Well, well, well, isn’t it the disowned Du Couteau daughter”, the sister stretched her neck slowly from side to side. “And her… brother, the dog of the assassin master. It seems to be our lucky day.”

“What brings you here in such a rude manner”, the brother asked, looking at Katarina and Talon in turns. A drop of blood fell from Talon’s blade.

“We are looking for my father”, Katarina answered, getting slowly back on her feet. “Return him to us.. and you shall live.”

“Harsh talk in your condition”, the sister smirked. “Tell me this.. are you proud to die during a false accusation on us? Believing you could rescue him.. too bad we don’t even have him. Now we have you, though, and might be we’ll get some respect from the Trifarix once we deliver them your treasonous head.”

Katarina bit her teeth together and grabbed her blade. She had barely taken the first leap towards the twins, when the brother trapped her in a circle of magic that burned her head from the inside. Katarina bit her teeth together to not scream in pain.  _ A good fighter never shows pain. A spot of weakness is what kills, and what could kill you separates a good fighter from the dead one. _

“Not so fast, Du Couteau”, the sister slowly shook her head, never taking her eyes off Katarina. “You are just as arrogant as they say.. walking head on us, even against the ways of assassins… arrogant, proud and stupid.”

Talon moved in the shadows and dashed towards the twins outside their sight. The sister blinked in front of Katarina and raised her hidden blades ready to strike Katarina dead while she was trapped by the brother’s magic. Talon appeared behind the brother before the sister could strike her blades down, and took the brother out in a split of a second. Katarina felt the magic fall, and ignoring the pain in her shoulder and head, she tightened her grip on her own blades and removed the sister’s head the moment before her blades hit Katarina. A pool of blood spread across the floor and Katarina laughed.

“So much for the unkillable twins”, she mocked, grinning at the headless body in her feet.

Talon appeared next to Katarina. The mages all across the hall were shocked, and no one else moved aside from the two Du Couteau assassins.

“Let’s get out of here”, he demanded, ignoring her compliments, and for once Katarina said nothing against him. They left the building quickly and escaped to the dark of the forest. Only there, a safe distance from the town, Katarina let the pain take over and fell on her knees, struggling to breathe. Talon helped her up and half carried Katarina to a small cave on the mountainside, safe from the sight of any road through the forest. 

~*~

Katarina opened her eyes. Talon sat at the doorway of the cave, gazing outside. When he heard Katarina move, he turned to look at her.

“Don’t move. The magic has not yet worn off your wounds. It will only get worse, if it spreads”, Talon said. Katarina sighed and leaned her back to the stone. 

“You know the torturing spells awfully well”, Katarina murmured quietly. Talon moved closer to her to try her forehead.

“Just as well as you know the poisons”, he said. “You should sleep. I’ll keep watch until you are good to travel back home.”

Katarina laughed, but laughing hurt and she had to bite her teeth together to keep from complaining. Talon saw her pain though, even through her effort to hide it. 

“I can travel immediately”, she insisted and tried to stand up. Talon pressed a hand on her healthy shoulder and forced her back laying down.

“No, you cannot”, he said, quietly, but with surprising authority in his tone. Talon was never the one to give out orders; even less that than a person who takes orders from anyone. Katarina stared at him, right in the eyes. She saw certainty that was different to his normal confidence. Talon’s eyes were under any circumstances filled with coldness ready to kill without any sign of an emotion, but today his look was warmer.

“Why do you even care?” Katarina whispered. 

Talon turned his face away.

“You are a Du Couteau. Even if you're not the one I swore to serve, I won’t see you die in the hands of filthy mages”, Talon answered. Katarina snorted.

“They were supposed to be an old assassin family”, she said. “Since when have they practiced magic over blades?”

“I don’t know”, Talon answered honestly. “I’m still not familiar with all of the known families in Noxus, neither the old nor the current ones.”

Katarina sighed.

“That was stupid of you, by the way”, Talon scolded Katarina. “You should never go head on to enemy ground like that. The most effective blade is the hidden blade.”

“Oh, cut it off, where’s the fun if it isn’t a challenge at all? Not that it would really matter anyway. The twins are dead, and most of that family’s power with them”, she stated, closing her eyes. “Wake me up when you want to sleep. I’ll take the second watch.”

Talon said nothing, and after a short while Katarina had fallen asleep. Talon peeked at her sleeping figure, and gazed then at the dark of the night again. Several hours later in the horizon the dawn began to arrive, lighting the thin line behind the trees. Talon saw the morning come, the sunlight slowly fill the forest below the cave and animals of all kinds wake up to the new day.

He let Katarina sleep as long as she needed, and forced himself to stay awake through the rest of the night and the sunrise until it was late day.

Katarina yawned and looked at Talon, who sharpened his blades.

“Didn’t I tell you to wake me up so you could sleep?” Katarina asked, slightly annoyed. Talon met her eyes and nodded shortly.

“Then why didn’t you wake me up?” Katarina demanded and sat up.

“You needed the sleep more than I did”, he answered and lowered his weapon. “How are your wounds?”

Katarina poked her shoulder and studied her senses.

“Better now”, she finally said and smirked. “I’m not so easily taken down, after all.”

Talon shook his head and stood up.

“Let’s get going, then”, he suggested. “I’m starting to get hungry, since I’ve been watching over your unthankful ass all night long.”

Katarina stood up and followed Talon out of the cave.

“My unthankful ass, huh”, she pouted and studied Talon when they started climbing down the mountainside. “I barely need any saving, but thank you for siding with me. We make quite a team.”

Talon met Katarina’s eyes and answered her with a rare smirk.

“I think we do.”


End file.
